Yummy Lemon Iced Ginger Cake

The recipe:

175g (6 oz) butter, softened
175g (6 oz) soft light brown sugar
Finely grated rind 1 lemon
3 medium eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon black treacle
115g (4 oz) preserved ginger in syrup, drained and chopped, syrup reserved
225g (8 oz) S-R flour
2 level teaspoons ground ginger
60g (2 oz) ground almonds
3 tablespoons milk

ICING:

115 g(4 oz) icing sugar, sieved
4 teaspoons lemon juice
30 g (1 oz) preserved stem ginger in syrup, drained and cut into thin slices

Preheat the oven to 160 def. C (325 deg. F, gas mark 3). Lightly grease an 18 cm (7 in) square, loose-based cake tin. Line the base and sides with nonstick baking paper or greaseproof paper, and grease lightly.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon rind together until light and fluffy. Adding a little at a time, beat about 2/3 of the egg into the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Gently mix in the black treacle the chopped stem ginger and 3 tablespoons of the reserved ginger syrup.

Sift the flour and ground ginger into the creamed mixture, add the ground almonds and fold in gently, then mix in the remaining egg and the milk to make a soft dropping consistency. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, level the surface and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 - 1/4 hours until firm to the touch, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove and put onto a wire rack to cool completely. When cold, remove the baking powder. (Hah! Alistair just pointed out that I should have said baking PAPER!!)

In a small bowl, mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice to make a smooth icing, thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Spread the lemon icing over the cake, allowing it to trickle down the sides. Scatter the thinly sliced ginger on top of the icing and leave to set.

Store in an airtight tin until ready to serve, then cut into squares or slices. The cake will keep for up to a week.


This is a delicious cake, very gingery, and with a lovely texture because of the almonds.